Waiting for report on hall of fame
ANY rescue mission by the Dunedin City Council to keep the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in Dunedin beyond June will not begin immediately.
City councillors have decided to wait for a report commissioned by Sport New Zealand.
That report by Recreation, Sport and Leisure Consultancy is due to be completed by the end of March.
Councillors were to consider options such as having the council take on running the hall as a visitor attraction, but they decided yesterday it was better to pause.
The cost of developing and running a suitable facility was among the concerns about greater council involvement, but councillors were also uneasy about Sport NZ deciding not to renew its annual $100,000 grant to the hall last year.
The hall of fame has been at the Dunedin Railway Station since 1999, but its funding has long been considered inadequate.
It has displays honouring heroes of New Zealand sport such as Sir Peter Snell and Dame Yvette Williams (later Corlett), but the exhibits are static.
Sport NZ already had a consultant’s report that found the status quo was not an option and keeping the hall in Dunedin was not essential.
A report by Manuireva Consulting for Sport NZ, completed early last year, mentioned longstanding governance issues with the hall of fame, emphasised the need for partnerships and said decisive action was now essential.
Ideas such as creating a partnership with a museum or stadium have been promoted, but little progress has been made in that direction.
Cr Steve Walker was one of several councillors conscious of the value of New Zealand’s sporting heritage, but aware of problems such as insufficient marketing of the hall and doubt about the suitability of its location.
Cr Andrew Whiley said the hall of fame celebrated what great New Zealanders had achieved across the globe.
He said he was stunned Sport NZ seemed to be ambivalent about recognising the achievements of legends from the past.
Sport NZ liked to promote champions and yet ‘‘can’t give a damn and put money into this’’.
Cr Carmen Houlahan suspected the next consultancy report for Sport NZ would be a waste of money if the intention was just to validate a previous report.